A pair of Florida Gators commits — Jesuit (Tampa) quarterback [autotag]Will Griffin[/autotag] and Armwood (Seffner) cornerback [autotag]Jaelen Waters[/autotag] — are ranked inside the ESPN Junior 300 following a recent fall update.
Griffin is the higher-ranked of the two at No. 58 nationally with a scout grade of 83 (four stars). He is also ranked sixth among pocket passers from the class of 2026, 12th in the state of Florida and 34th in the Southeast region.
“Griffin will bring many of the same traits to Florida’s scheme that Graham Mertz provided over the last two years,” ESPN Analyst Tom Luginbill wrote. “We’ve seen that the Gators’ scheme is adaptable to athleticism based on how they’ve used DJ Lagway, so Griffin doesn’t have to be a dynamic runner in this offense. Griffin is a strong-armed, deep-ball passer and Florida loves to push the ball vertically off play-action.”
Waters is ranked No. 222 in the class of 2026 with an 80 scout grade, which is good for a four-star rating. ESPN has him at No. 21 among cornerbacks, No. 38 in Florida and No. 116 in the Southeast.
Florida has held Waters’ commitment since June, but in-state rival Miami is pushing strongly for him. Waters has already attended three Hurricanes games this season and has a history of flipping — the Gators flipped him from Florida State over the summer.
“Florida, that’s still my school,” Waters recently told Gaby Urrutia of 247Sports. “I still represent that school 100 percent, but other schools are impacting my recruitment. I love Florida. I love the city. That’s my school. My parents love it.”
Florida only has one more player under commitment from the class of 2026, three-star safety Devin Jackson out of First Academy in Windermere. ESPN has not formally ranked Jackson just yet.
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